I have been using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study for almost a year. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I started writing this blog because the only way I can get myself to read the Bible everyday is to pretend that I am teaching someone about what it says to me. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them. I hope that the Spirit is moving in others through these posts as the Spirit has definitely been convicting me.
After David had taken Bathsheba, the widow of Uriah, as his wife, the prophet Nathan confronted him. Nathan told David a parable about a rich man who steals a poor man’s lamb to feed his guests rather than butchering one of his own. When David becomes furious at the rich man and vows to punish him, Nathan tells David that he is the rich man. Nathan tells David that his own family will rebel against him because of his sin. David admits to Nathan that he has sinned against God. Nathan tells him that God has forgiven him and will not take his life for his sin, but that the child will die.
The child of David and Bathsheba became deathly ill. During its illness, David fasted and spent the night on the floor rather than a bed, begging God to spare the child’s life. His advisers pled with him to eat, but David refused. After seven days the child died, but David’s advisers were afraid to tell him, fearing that since he behaved this way while the child was sick, he might do something even more extreme when he learned of the child’s death. David noticed them whispering, realized what had happened and asked them if the child had died. When they confirmed that the child had died, David got up, washed, dressed and ate a meal. His advisers did not understand his reaction. David told them that while the child lived, there was the possibility that God would listen to his plea and heal the child. However, now that the child was dead, it would not return to him. He then said something that should be a comfort to all parents who lose a child. That while his child would not return to him, some day he would go to it.
Jesus told His disciples that the time was coming when those who killed them would think that they were doing the work of God, but that is because they do not truly know God or Jesus. Jesus went on to say that while they were grieved that He was leaving them, it was for their benefit because if He stayed the Holy Spirit would not come. There was more that Jesus wanted to tell them, but they were not ready to hear it. However, the Holy Spirit would bring further understanding to them (and us). The Spirit will reveal to us things that go further than what Jesus taught, but which are consistent with what He taught.
Jesus tells them that shortly He will be taken from them and the world will rejoice while they mourn. However, after a little while, He will return to them and their sorrow will turn to joy. No one will be able to take that latter joy from them. Once that has happened, they (and we) will be able to ask the Father for things in His name and the Father will give it to them. We will not need Jesus, or anyone else, to ask the Father on our behalf. As long as we are asking the Father to do His mighty works so that Jesus and the Father may be glorified, the Father will grant our requests because the Father loves us because we love Jesus and believe that He came from the Father.
The psalmist continues to extol the virtues of following God’s commands and promises to strive to follow God’s instructions. There is a line here that I want to make a prayer that I keep in my mind:
Now give me the sense to follow your commands.
The best course of action is to do as God commands. It is the sensible thing to do and the path to true happiness. If we follow God’s commands. all of our grief will one day be turned to joy.
God detests the proud and will punish them for the sins they commit in their pride. Let me have the appropriate humility before God and man.